Binance Founder CZ Addresses “Buy and Hold” Controversy Amid Market Volatility
Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has responded to criticism on social media regarding his recent comment on “buy and hold” investing, which sparked debate about market losses, exchange responsibility, and his influence on crypto markets. The controversy began when Zhao stated that, in his experience, few trading strategies beat a simple buy-and-hold approach, adding that it was not financial advice.
I have seen many different trading strategies over the years, but very few can beat the simple “buy and hold” that I do. No financial advice.
– CZ BNB (@cz_binance) January 25, 2026
The remark quickly spread across cryptocurrency social media, with some users interpreting it as a blanket endorsement of ownership of all tokens listed on major exchanges, regardless of quality or market conditions. As prices remained under pressure across much of the market, critics argued that the message ignored the reality that many tokens never recover if they enter a prolonged downturn.
Clarifying the “Buy and Hold” Statement
On Sunday, Zhao responded directly to what he described as “twisted FUD” surrounding the comment. In his post on X, he clarified that the statement was never intended to apply to every cryptocurrency ever created.
4. Saw some twisted FUD on this “Buy and Hold” tweet. Of course, this does not apply to every coin. If you “buy and hold” every cryptocurrency ever created, you will know how your portfolio will perform. The same as if you bought all the Internet or AI projects/companies… ️
In every industry… https://t.co/ipXIOCLH6m
– CZ BNB (@cz_binance) January 27, 2026
He argued that buying and owning all assets in every industry would inevitably lead to poor performance, with most projects failing while a small number generated outsized returns.
Industry Reactions and Concerns
Other users have attributed their criticism to the October 10 market crash that wiped out tens of billions of dollars in leveraged positions in cryptocurrencies. Some have also raised concerns about the role of exchanges in promoting tokens and the potential for market manipulation.
When asked by a user whether exchanges should only include assets that can be held for the long term, Zhao replied that no one can credibly say which projects will be successful a few years later.
By this logic, would Nasdaq be better off listing only the top 10 (current) Internet companies since 1990? There used to be thousands of internet startups. How did you know 30 years ago which ten would be the last giants?
Nobody can predict the future development of the project. Can you guarantee which currency will only rise but not fall?
The exchange should do its best to provide opportunities to hard-working projects. You don’t have to buy every item on the exchange. DYOR.
– CZ BNB (@cz_binance) January 28, 2026
Binance Under Scrutiny
Binance was closely linked to the crypto market crash on October 10-11, 2025, after technical outages amid extreme volatility prevented users from managing orders, leading to mass liquidations. System overloads, incorrect price displays, asset depegging, and faulty risk controls contributed to $283 million in losses.
Binance acknowledged the issues, compensated affected users, fixed pricing errors, strengthened infrastructure, and updated risk parameters to prevent a recurrence.
Institutional voices have also weighed in on the discussion, with market watchers noting that the forced deleveraging following the October crash appears to be largely complete and attention is turning to longer-term positioning rather than short-term volatility.
For more information, visit https://cryptonews.com/news/cz-buy-and-hold-tweet-fud-response/
